


Mechaphilia

by EnOh



Series: A Girl and Her Robot (and Her Other Robot) [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Other, Pining, Robot/Human Relationships, Swearing, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23955334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnOh/pseuds/EnOh
Summary: Moze knows an opportunity when she sees one.
Relationships: FL4K/Moze (Borderlands)
Series: A Girl and Her Robot (and Her Other Robot) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726984
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	Mechaphilia

Moze reclines against worn vinyl, her legs crossed at the ankles, one arm was thrown over the back of the seat while her other hand worries an unfinished drink in her best attempt to look casual. She stares at the monitor on the wall as if she were wholly absorbed in Sanctuary III’s static ship readings, all the while sending Fl4k, who’s seated just across from her, cursory glances.

She’s had this _thing_ for the indexing-unit-turned-hunter since they met and had—emphasis on _had_ —every intention of keeping it to herself, but Zane and Amara are out on a mission, Fl4k’s hood is down for once and Moze thinks they’re _damn fine_ looking; faded yellow paint against sleek metal, copper protruding through frayed wires and magnetic plates. The hydraulics and joints along their neck and mandible were well-kept, but their chassis was dented, the steel scarred and scorched...

A battle-worn bot was decidedly sexy and Moze knew an opportunity when she saw one.

_Dammit Moze, get your shit together! Just. Say. Something!_

She turns her head and opens her mouth in an exaggerated fashion, sucking in a sharp breath as if something _incredibly_ interesting just crossed her mind, “Heeyyyy—” and stops short when she notices the hunter bot’s attention focused elsewhere, their green optic fixated past her and towards the bar.

Moze turns herself half-around, leaning at an awkward angle to see what’s caught Fl4k’s attention.

“…Moxxi?” she asks aloud. Said proprietress is busy talking up some clueless recruit who seems way too flattered and eager to have the attention of the busty hostess, copiously slipping money into the nearby tip jar whenever Moxxi leans a little too far forward or passes them over with a sultry glance.

Moze snorts with amusement, “What? Is that your type?” she looks back to Fl4k who is now staring at her, one hand hovering awkwardly over their now closed fist.

They don’t move an inch.

Moze stares back, the half-smile she carried falling and her brows furrowing, “Wait really? _That’s_ your type?” she clicks her tongue instinctively, almost annoyed, but not totally surprised because it’s _Moxxi_ and even Moze has caught herself staring from time to time.

Fla4k pauses for a moment, “My “type” is…Human,” they say awkwardly.

She arches an eyebrow, “That’s...Nondescript,” but now she’s interested because it didn’t occur to her that Fl4k even _had_ a type, let alone understood the concept.

Moze leans forward, “So like, is it the tits?” she asks and not-so-smoothly pulls the zipper of her jacket down a quarter of an inch. She’s only a little disappointed when Fl4k doesn’t react.

“No,” they say flatly, “It’s her bearing.”

She gives them a blank look, “Which means...Not her tits?” she asks slowly.

Their optic briefly flickers, “Rather, her demeanor.”

She leans back into the seat and looks up, thoughtful, “So her attitude, you mean?”

Was Fl4k really telling her that they liked a girl for her personality? It was almost...Sweet.

Fl4k seems to mule over her words, optical lens closing slowly, “She’s dangerous,” they finally say, “I find her predisposition for destruction and viciousness...Alluring.”

Less sweet then, she thinks.

“So...Is that why you were all hot over Ellie to?” she asks, still not entirely convinced that Fl4k’s type wasn’t large breasted women.

Fl4k’s hand twitches and they tense, “You noticed,” they give the impression of being ‘caught’.

“Uh, yeah. You weren’t exactly subtle,” she points out, “You were pretty much eye-fucking her toolbelt when we met her,” Moze also distinctly remembers thinking _‘Okay, and how do I get this hot hunk of metal to look at me like that?’_ at the time.

“…Yes, I find Ellie, uh, attractive as well,”

“Alright, sure, but what about Vaughn? You seemed pretty into him and he’s not exactly what I’d call “dangerous”.”

They hesitate, “I also have a thing for hapless creatures,”

She nods like she understands, even though she totally doesn’t, “Yeah, okay,” Moze is almost surprised at how willing Fl4k is to talk about this and idly wonders how she can capitalize on this newly acquired information—she can be dangerous, hell, she lives on danger. Moze isn’t good with words, but if Fl4k wants a girl who can shoot someone in the face, then she feels like she might actually have a chance.

“And what do you seek in a mate?” she’s caught off guard by the question but tries not to show it, and fails, when she nervously runs a hand through her hair and rests it at the nape of her neck, her eyes avert to the side of Fl4k to focus on the neon light behind them.

“I, uh…” she swallows hard, thinking for a moment that she should say something along the lines of how she’s a soldier and she doesn’t care about that sort of thing so she isn’t interested, but that’s not the truth and Moze musters up her courage with that hope that she might get some…Or something. She doesn’t know what Fl4k can offer her, but she knows she wants it.

“I like a guy, uh, person with a lot of...brass,” she mentally kicks herself, “Like, you know, someone with an iron will! With moxie—but not that Moxxi! The personality kind! Ha ha ha!” she finishes her nervous tirade with an awkward cough and grabs her drink with too much force, spilling some of it on the countertop before swiftly chugging it down, her ears suddenly feel hot and her blood runs cold.

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck._

Fl4k’s optic lens closes slowly, “I see.”

“Oh man,” she mutters, unable to bring herself to look Fl4k in the eye.

“I believe I have a sufficient amount of “moxie” and an adequate amount of “brass” and “iron”,” they say.

“…” Moze stops and blinks, not sure she heard them right. She cranes her neck towards Fl4k, astounded, “Wait what?”

“I also find that your cohabitation with Iron Bear both practical and prepossessing.”

She nods along even though she has no idea what they’re saying, “Uuuhh, yep, me and Iron Bear make a good team,” she thinks she at least gets the gist of what they’re trying to say though.

They suddenly avert their optic to the side in a paradigm to her own earlier embarrassment. “And for the record, I prefer a more…Modest bust on a woman.”

She stares for a moment, processing Fl4k’s words at a crawl before suddenly grinning. She leans forward again, “Oh yeah? Well I—”

“—Hey! It’s girly and the robot!” Zane shouts as he enters the bar, Amara following close behind. He walks over to them in a quick stride, a bounce in his step and a flourish. Moze frowns, feeling irritation rise in her, she wants to tell him to fuck off into a hole because she’s in the middle of something here, but bites her tongue.

“Heeeyyy guys, that was quick…” _too quick_ , she thinks.

Zane laughs, “Those baddies didn’t know what hit ‘em!” and throws himself into the seat beside Moze who begrudgingly moves over to make room for him. He calls to Moxxi for a drink and Moze sinks into her seat before sending a look to Fl4k—they’re already half-way out of their seat.

“Excuse me,” Fl4k suddenly stands and leaves without another word, Amara taking their seat in turn.

“Ah, did we…Interrupt something?” Amara asks, her eyes flicking between Fl4k as they leave and then to Moze.

Moze shrugs and leans back into her seat, waving her hand dismissively, “Nah, it was nothing.”

Zane claps his hands when the drinks are set down on the table and begins to retell the mission in, what Moze believed to be, painful detail. Amara would occasionally laugh or correct some of his more liberal tellings of their mission and Moze forces herself to laugh with them, but all she can think about is a certain hunter.

~

Moze walks into her room, marches to her bed, grabs a pillow before shoving her face into in and cursing loudly, “Stupid shitty Zane and his stupid shitty never shutting the fuck up!”

Four hours, she had to listen to Zane talk for four. Damn. Hours.

It’s late, she’s tried, and more importantly, feels like she missed her chance with Fl4k thanks to the Operative’s inability to read the mood. She throws the pillow back onto her bed with unnecessary force and starts to pace, her thoughts on Fl4k.

_They were totally coming onto me. I’m not crazy right?_

She stops to tap her foot against the metal floor, biting her lip, _Would it be weird to knock on their door right now?_ She runs through several scenarios in her head and reasons that worst-case she gets turned down, which is enough to make her almost decide against it, but the alternate, she finds, is worse; Moze couldn’t stand the uncertainty

_Oh fuck it! I’m gonna do it, dammit!_

She marches to her door, takes a deep breath and opens it—

—To be met face-to-chest with Fl4k.

Moze jumps back, startled, “ **Fuckingshitassfuck**!”

“…I am sensing that your heart rate is accelerated and blood pressure is high.”

She calms down enough to shoot Fl4k a warning look, “My heart and blood are fine.”

It takes her a moment before she realizes the implications of Fl4k standing in her doorway. She could drop it, she thinks, but curiosity gets the better of her, “...Uh, were you waiting for me?” She’s only a little hopeful.

They’re quiet and unmoving for a long enough period that Moze briefly wonders if they’re even paying attention, “May I come in?” they finally ask.

She looks at Fl4k with wide eyes, like a startled mouse caught by a cat, but catches herself quickly and tries to play it off. She stands up straight in an instant, turns her head to the side, and rests her hand on her hip, “Yeah yeah, sure,” she says cooly, as if she wasn’t suddenly filled with nervous energy.

Fl4k, the robot she had been pining for who knows how long, was in her room.

It wasn’t all sexy-like as she had fantasized about, but it was _enough_.

She walks back into her room and Fl4k follows, the door closing behind them. Moze acutely hears Fl4k’s mechanical limbs grind with each step despite the sound itself being almost inaudible, her senses on the alert. She’s not sure what to expect, so she leans herself against the table and crosses her arms; ready to smooch the bot or kick them out depending on how things unfold.

She’s hopeful it’ll be the former.

Moze shifts uncomfortably, suddenly feeling awkward, “So...What’s up?”

Their optic closes, “I have come to make a request,” before it opens again.

“Shoot.”

“It is about…Earlier,” Moze holds her breath as they speak, “I find your aptitude to extirpate the opposition exquisite and our rapport is agreeable, if you have any mind for it, I believe it would be mutually beneficial if we were to pursue a more domestic partnership.”

She deflates and stares at them, “Alright…?”

Sensing her confusion, Fl4k continues, “That is to say; I would...Like to consider pursuing you in a...Romantic sense,” they force out, in like whatever the robot equivalent of 'pulling teeth` is.

“Are you asking me out?”

They hesitate, “Yes.”

“Oh,” she says simply, but her thoughts are going a mile a minute.

She feels giddy and light; wants to touch the indexing unit and hold them and all other sorts of naughty and innocent things. She wonders if this is going to complicate their work relationship. She has her doubts—knows better than anyone to not get attached to people she could lose at any moment, all it takes is one mission gone wrong.

But she also feels something very similar to the thrill of victory and can’t be assed to care at the moment.

“Moze,” Fl4k’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts and they stare at her expectantly.

“Huh? O-oh yeah!” she really likes hearing them say her name, but decides to dwell on it later, “I mean yeah! That’d be cool, I’m into it if you are.”

“That is good to hear,” Moze can practically see Fl4k’s relief, she hadn’t realized the tension in their shoulders until just then. She wants to tease them about it, but decides not to (because she’s not the robot with an internal vitals sensor and her heart is going a mile a minute and all sorts of weird things are happening inside her that she’d rather not acknowledge or give Fl4k any reason to acknowledge).

She pushes herself off the table and upright, “So, uh, what’s the plan here? Any idea how we’re gonna,” she motions with her hands senselessly, as if trying to pull words from the air, “Do all this…?”

“No different than the usual I suppose,” they say and despite the simplicity of Fl4k’s words, Moze feels entirely relieved.

“Cool, so no different than usual,” she echoes.

Fl4k tilts their head to the side, “Well, except maybe…” they lean down and whisper something into her ear and her face goes bright red.

“Shut up,” she says with no bite, still trying to keep some semblance of her tough-girl persona. She pushes Fl4k back with almost no force, but they oblige and stand up straight, her hands hold the edges of their coat in a light grip. She looks up at them and grins, her cheeks red.

“...But I might have to take you up on that sometime.”

Fl4k laughs.


End file.
